Do you know what these are?

These are the first tomatoes from the garden. I'm so excited. But here's the kicker with my tomatoes: I'm the only one who will eat them raw. I don't have a problem with that, though. I didn't eat tomatoes raw until college, so I won't make the kiddos eat them if they don't want to do so. But as the tomato season progresses, I have to find ways to use those red gems from the garden up. This is one of the ways that I use my garden's bounty, combining pesto (with basil from the garden, too), chicken, tomatoes and cheese. The tomatoes are easy to pull off for picky eaters, and this recipe can be completely from scratch or can pull in a convenience food for even easier prep!

Pesto Caprese Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup or more of basil pesto--I had homemade in the freezer, but you can use store bought
1-2 tomatoes, sliced (mine were on the small size, so I used 2)
2 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
fresh basil--I used a mini leaf basil but you can use any kind

The night before, pull out frozen chicken and put pesto all over the breasts. This way it marinates as it thaws. When you are ready to cook the chicken, preheat the oven to 450. Heat up an oven safe frying pan over medium heat on the stove--no oil is needed because of the oil in the pesto. Cook the chicken breasts until done through. Place sliced tomatoes on top of the chicken, then the cheese.



Put in oven for about 2 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling. Sprinkle with basil.



You can also do this entire recipe out on the grill. We were just  low on propane.

Enjoy this summery melange of basil, garlic and tomatoes!